IB Visual Arts Seniors Present Exhibition
The IB Art seniors present the final piece of their IB examination.
Photo Juno Le
Sculptures on a vinyl record from Maddy Ruyle’s exhibition, which is based on her love of music.
May 2, 2023
At long last, the artists may sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor.
On Tuesday, April 18, the senior IB Visual Arts class held their annual Art Exhibition in the newly expanded section of the cafeteria. Traditionally, it has been open in the auditorium but since the end of March, the Robinson Auditorium and gymnasium have been closed off for renovations. From 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the exhibition was open for guests to view their work.
All around the exhibition, students of the IB Visual Arts class stood by their works, ready to answer questions and discuss their work with passersby. Each work included a brief explanation of how it was made and what the piece is about.
The class is the smallest of the IB arts classes, with only seven students on the senior side: Grace Barrett, Petra De Jenzano, Megan Higdon, Joseph Maisano, Madelyn Ruyle, Kalani Silva and Ingalls Witte. While in prior years the class has been a mix of Standard Level (SL) and Higher Level (HL), this class of art students is completely HL. The main difference between an SL art student and an HL art student is the number of pieces required for their exhibition and the length of the accompanying rationale. Whereas SL is required to have four to seven pieces with a 400-word rationale, HL is required to have eight to 11 pieces with a 700-word rationale.
Unlike their other IB classes, Visual Arts does not have a traditional paper exam but rather is judged on three mediums: the exhibition, the comparative study and the process portfolio.
“Before the exhibition, you submit all your works as well as the title, the medium and a little blurb describing what it is. [IB] grades it based on thoughtfulness, technique, whether you did proper technique or whether you experimented and just the cohesiveness of your exhibition as a whole,” Barrett said.
Nearing the end of the year before they leave for IB exams, the exhibition acts as the IB Visual Arts class’s final assessment to showcase their art-making process. 40% of their final IB score for the class is from the exhibition.
“Through this process, I learned a lot about my artistic voice. It was a great learning experience and really fun,” De Jenzano said.
